The former England No. 1 reflects on the Euro 2024 final and hails Gareth Southgate after he stepped down as manager of the Three Lions.
Southgate is a hero
Gareth Southgate has taken England such a long way.
I thought that coming so close again might have pushed him on even further to have one more go at the World Cup, because that is the pinnacle of all tournaments, but he’s made his decision to leave.
He deserves so much credit for what he’s done, and should be hailed as a hero for what he’s achieved.
Gareth has had a lot of criticism, the crowd have booed him and thrown cups at him, which is tough to take when it’s your own fans.
I think he’ll be a manager everyone will look back on and appreciate, though. That’s what often happens. We should be careful what we wish for, because Gareth consistently got us to semi-finals and finals, and that will be hard to replace.
Everyone thinks a new manager will come in, hit the ground running and kick on from the level that the previous manager has set, but it doesn’t always work out like that. We’ve seen it at club level with Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson – great managers leave and it all falls to pieces.
Howe looks England’s best option
If I had to choose the next England manager I would go for Eddie Howe, because he’s used to dealing with Premier League players. He seems to tick all the boxes for an England manager, and he would have the respect of the players for what he has achieved at Newcastle.
The FA would have to tempt him away from his club, and it’s tough because that day-to-day life of club management is a big buzz. I would imagine every English manager’s dream is to manage England, though, and if you get the opportunity, there aren’t many that would turn it down.
Spain are deserved winners but England can be proud
The final itself was obviously disappointing, and it was always going to be a tight game. I thought England coped really well with Spain, but the better team won. Spain were the best team in every game they played, so a lot of credit has to go to them, and to us for how we fought back to 1-1 with a fantastic goal.
We might have gone for it a bit more after equalising, but I thought Spain were too good for us to do that. They looked dangerous, they were sharp, and they were really quick with their passing.
To concede right at the end was a killer blow. You could see players were getting tired, but who knows what might have happened in extra-time if we had got there.
I still feel we could have played better throughout the tournament, which is where a lot of the frustration comes from, but we got to another final and gave Spain a run for their money.
It’s hard to criticise any England players. It’s easy to point fingers after a tournament, but you don’t really carry passengers when you get all the way to a final. Even Harry Kane, although he didn’t look his best, chipped in with three goals and won a share of the Golden Boot.
Bukayo Saka can hold his head high – he was our player of the tournament. He’s shown previously that he comes back stronger from disappointment and he’ll soon have a smile on his face again.
Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins both made their mark coming off the bench, and then you look at the defence – they were getting criticised going into the tournament but they didn’t concede many goals.
Costa and Yamal stood out at Euro 2024
Despite the disappointment of losing in the final, I really enjoyed Euro 2024. My moment of the tournament was Diego Costa’s three penalty saves. It was epic to watch for me as a goalkeeper
My player of the tournament was Lamine Yamal. His goal against France – what a moment. What a player he is, and to be named Young Player of the Tournament at 17 is just amazing.
His confidence is incredible. Even when he went off against England, I saw him on the touchline shouting instructions at his replacement! How cool is that?
Stories from the final
I was at the final in Berlin, and the night didn’t get off to a great start as my ticket didn’t work and I had to go off to a different area to get into the stadium!
It worked out for me in the end, though, because as a result of that diversion I got to meet the Prime Minister. Sir Keir Starmer came over to say hello and shook my hand before the game, which was brilliant.
Jurgen Klopp was at the game, and as I was leaving we saw each other and waved, and I heard him tell his kids: “That’s David Seaman!”. It was great!
My great friend Ben Winston was also there, looking after Harry Styles and James Corden, so all the stars were out.
The result didn’t go our way, but I’m glad that the team who dominated the tournament were the ones to win it.
Visit Betway’s football betting page.
